The idea of a joint Springbank Dam/Back to The River environmental assessment could make for a heated city council meeting Tuesday.
Through a master plan environmental assessment (EA) the area spanning from the Springbank Dam to the Forks of the Thames and Harris Park would be evaluated as one.
A staff report going to council for final approval allows for the two projects to split following the first two phases of the EA. But it is being met with criticism from those who believe a combined EA will taint both projects.
Councillor Harold Usher sees the joint EA as a cost saving measure.
"We should be doing one EA for the entire area. It's far more economical and essential that we have it," says Usher.
The combined EA study was approved 4-2 by the civic works committee two weeks ago. Councillors Michael Van Holst and Anna Hopkins were the only committee members opposed to the plan.
The approval came at the end of an eight-hour meeting that included a heavy public participation component about the future of the dam.
Usher says the EA is needed before he can pick a side in the debate over whether to repair or decommission the dam.
"Regardless of what you do, you have to have an EA for everything. I want to see the results of an EA. There is a lot of communication and conversation that needs to take place between our staff, the federal government, the provincial government, the conversation authority, and the First Nations," says Usher.
Springbank Dam has been out of operation since 2006 when work on a multi-million dollar upgrade began. During testing of the upgrade in 2008, the dam malfunctioned when bolts attaching one of the four new gates and its hinge snapped.
The malfunction that left the dam inoperable prompted the city to launch a $5-million lawsuit against the contractors in April 2009. The lawsuit was settled in the fall of 2015 with the city receiving $3.775-million while no party admitted to being liable.